BERLIN — Zalando SE announced today that its supervisory board has proposed the election of Peter Sarlin, a European pioneer in machine learning and artificial intelligence, as a supervisory board member at the annual general meeting on 12 May 2026. Sarlin, founder of Silo AI—Europe's largest private AI lab acquired by AMD in 2024—will add dedicated AI expertise as Zalando scales AI innovations to drive growth and efficiency across its business.
Sarlin is also chairperson of the board at NestAI and Qutwo, and a professor of practice at Aalto University specializing in machine learning and AI. He will succeed Susanne Schroter-Crossan, who is stepping down effective at the end of the AGM. The supervisory board thanked Schroter-Crossan for her contributions to the company's strategic development.
Data, machine learning, and AI have been core to Zalando since its founding in 2008. The company is now leveraging its unique data and infrastructure platform—including Europe's richest fashion-specific data set and leading logistics fulfillment network—with AI to enhance operations and provide customers and partners with advanced experiences. Zalando is embracing agentic commerce to create lifestyle agents that understand customers' contexts and proactively serve their fashion and lifestyle needs. The company is evolving its Zalando Assistant into a personal lifestyle companion and already partners with Sarlin's Qutwo, one of Europe's most ambitious AI labs.
"Peter will play a crucial role in governing and scaling our AI innovations further as we unlock tremendous value for our customers, our partners, and our business. He is an AI pioneer, and we are excited to work with him to embrace the tremendous opportunities ahead of us," said Kelly Bennett, chairperson of the supervisory board. "On behalf of the board, I also want to express my deepest gratitude to Susanne Schroter-Crossan for her fantastic contribution and dedicated service to the company's development during her tenure."
The full invitation to the annual general meeting 2026 is available on corporate.zalando.com. Zalando, founded in Berlin in 2008, is the leading European technology platform for fashion and lifestyle, connecting 62 million active customers with more than 7,000 brands across 29 markets. Further information can be found at corporate.zalando.com/en.
